Though 'Red Tails' hasn't been received hugely well by the critics, it's flown in the face of that to take second spot on the US Box Office after its opening weekend, and one of the film's stars Terrence Howard has praised the George Lucas-produced movie for its telling of what he feels is an important part of American history. 'Red Tails' tells the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first US black pilots in history when battling in World War II, and Howard revealed he didn't have to do much fresh research into the subject as it was one he already knew off by heart.Speaking to the Philadelphia Inquirer the actor said, "I'd written reports about them in 1974, 1975. For my dad. That's how my daddy would discipline us," said Howard. "My dad was big on education, so I grew up knowing about the black pilots who shot down Nazi jets, and flew the P-51 Mustang. For me, the Mustang was always the airplane, not the car."With Lucas spending millions of his own money and spending two decades creating the film, Howard claimed he was under no illusions as to the gravity of the role presented to him. "These guys were real heroes, and real heroes don't brag about their exploits. That's why very few people know that they helped save the world," said Howard, continuing, "If these airmen didn't do the things they were able to do, I promise you there is every chance the Axis powers would have found a way to survive. They were developing weapons systems that could have turned the tide of the war."